Summer break is soon upon us and this sometimes leads to less structure around our eating habits. Children, especially those old enough to be alone, may not eat regular meals in the day but prefer to snack or “graze” on whatever they can find. Often convenience foods are the stand by for quick meals for independent eaters home alone. These food items tend to be high in saturated fat, low in fibre and lacking variety.

What to have instead…

Balance is key! It can be helpful for parents to have a variety of food items available to provide long
lasting energy, good sources of vitamins and minerals, as well as tasty and easy to prepare for young chefs. Try making a list of simple snack and meal ideas kids can create on their own and have these listed for reference in the summer. Also, it may be wise to spend some time in the evening or weekend prepping items to have on hand for when they are home alone during the day.

Final message…

As parents, we have to provide children with the tools and knowledge to help them make their own balanced meals as they become more independent. This will give them a jump start to healthy eating as they grow into adults.

Batch Cooking to the Rescue…

Batch cooking means making a large amount of a meal or food and freezing portions for later use. This can be a great option for kids home alone as they can just “heat and eat”. Soups, stews, muffins, breakfast burritos, casseroles, egg cups, waffles and pancakes can all be frozen and re-heated as needed.

Nutrition Services Team 204-856-2055